Multisensory Integration and Sensory Disabilities
Ersilia Bosco
Multisensory integration is a complex neurobiological process that integrates and organises all sensations coming from both the external environment and our body. A series of studies on multisensory integration and intersensory calibration in children and adults with sensory disabilities are presented, highlighting the potential of multisensory rehabilitation methods. Elements are provided for understanding the two major sensory disabilities in a specific and complementary way. Tackling deafness and blindness together allows us to highlight how in both cases multisensory integration represents the keystone to promoting the most harmonious and complete development of the potential of every child and adult with sensory disability as happens for able-bodied individuals, always taking into account the environmental and social context to which they belong. Three aspects are briefly discussed — family, the pleasure of learning, and compensatory enhancement — which allow the two conditions of sensory impairment to be combined, offering significant elements of convergence while respecting specific needs.
Keywords
Multisensory integration, Multisensory rehabilitation, Blindness, Deafness, Pleasure of learning, Compensatory enhancement.
